Evaluation of Patient Numbers and Hospital Dynamics After The Establishment of The Oncology Follow-Up Unit

Introduction: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the contribution of the oncology follow-up unit to the follow-up of cancer patients and its impact on hospital treatment rates and overall survival (OS).Methods: This study was conducted on 5,042 patients diagnosed with any kind of cancer via pathology between January 2022 and February 2025.Data were compared between the before establishment period (January 2022-July 2023) and the after establishment period (August 2023-February 2025) of the oncology follow-up unit.The patient characteristics and follow-up data were obtained from patients' database.Results: A total of 5042 cancer patients were included in this study.After the unit's establishment, the number of patients receiving treatment at our hospital increased from 2,053 to 2,989 (p=0.001).The rate of patients lost to follow-up or went to other oncology centers for treatment decreased from 18.99% to 11.43% (p=0.001).Furthermore, comparison of OS before and after the establishment of the oncology follow-up unit showed a significant increase in median OS from 12 months to 14 months (p=0.002). Conclusion:The establishment of an oncology follow-up unit has made the follow-up process more patient-centred and appropriate in terms of preventing patients' loss from follow up.This was associated with significantly improved patient retention, reduced loss to follow-up, and improved OS.